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As an award winning blogger, David Butler helps others explore the world of craft beer in Northern Colorado. Fermentedly Challenged helps you find great places to enjoy a beer, listen to music, enjoy a meal and find a discount on your next pint. Follow along on social media - @ChipperDave on Twitter and on Facebook.

Friday, August 26, 2011

You know it's almost GABF time when the Falling Rock Tap House releases it's annual Great American Beer Festival (GABF) schedule of events.

The word came out late last night from Chris, the owner of Falling Rock on what's on the docket for this year's GABF week. Traditionally, the GABF wouldn't be complete without 1st stopping by one of Denver's icons.

The following is a newsletter directly from Falling Rock Tap House itself. Read on for the big line-up of events at one of the beer beer bars in the world:

GABF 2011 Falling Rock Events

Monday Sept 26th

5pm 14th Annual GABF Kickoff Party. The Countdown Clock that’s been running since early January will reach Zero at 5pm & Falling Rock will tap into around 10 special kegs to get the week started right. Which Kegs ? Not really sure, we’ll wait till the dust settles in the next weeks & start releasing names as I decide (& unbury them in the stash).Tuesday Sept 27th

6 pm - Boulevard Brewing - We’ll tap into a couple of special Smokestack Series beers. Come Meet Head Brewer Steven Pauwels And taste some of his best work on tap.

Wednesday Sept 28th

4pm - Anderson Valley Saison & Imperial Boont Amber. Join us for some of Anderson Valley’s Newer offerings an American take on a traditional Belgian Style and a suped-up version of the beer that made them famous.

9pm - Elysian Pumpkin Beer Festival hits the Falling Rock Taphouse Join Dick Cantwell and the Elysian Brewing Team for a pre-GABF Pumpkin Beer Throwdown Find out what happens when the nation’s most pumpkin obsessed brewery teams up with one of Denver’s premiere beer bars! Come by the Falling Rock and have your pick of 10 Elysian pumpkin beers on tap including Night Owl, The Great Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale, Dark o’ the Moon Pumpkin Stout, Hansel & Gretel Ginger Pumpkin Pilsner, Mr. Yuck Sour Pumpkin, and Coche de Medianoche – a Mexican themed pumpkin ale with cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, chilies and roasted pumpkin seeds – to name a few. There will also be collaboration and guest pumpkin beers and a very, very special surprise!

1pm Boulder Brewing Neapolitan Porter. Come on out & try a Small Batch from the oldest Microbrewery in Colorado. The Neapolitan Porter is their Planet Porter aged for 3 months in oak barrels with Vanilla, Chocolate & Strawberries.

2pm - Anchor Brewing Come on out to try some of Anchor’s Newer offerings.

Keep your eyes open on this space for a VERY Special World rePremiere of something from overseas….

10pm - Full Sail Stash & Rarities – Join Head Brewer John Harris to crack open a few rare kegs of Brewmaster Specials Like some Older kegs of Barrel Aged Yummyness… I Think there’s like an ’06 somewhere back here if I can just lift this keg…

11pm - Green Flash Brewing – The Folks out at Green Flash are sending in some of their really Special Kegs. I just went out to the opening of their new Brewery & got to go through their list of special releases…. More when the kegs get into my cooler.

Midnite - Shorts Brewing For the First time outside of the Great American Beer Festival, Shorts will be available on tap. We’ll Have Kegs of Huma-Luma-Licious, Bludgeon Yer Eye, Key Lime Pie, Spruce Pilsner, & Bourbon Wizard.

Friday September 30th

12pm - Sierra Nevada Harvest Release (Kill-A-Keg) – Our Annual insanity of releasing Sierra Nevada’s Harvest Ale (made with wet, Fresh-from-the-Fields Hops) & seeing how fast we can pour a keg of beer.A few years back we noticed that we were pouring a keg pretty quick (like a 15.5 gal keg in about a half Hour) & we wondered, ‘just how fast CAN you pour a keg?’ The next year it was 20 minutes or so, the next 15, then 12 minutes. Last year it was a new record: 9 minutes 53 seconds. I’ll look to better that time this Year, One Man, One Keg & a bunch of glasses… After the first keg goes well tap into some more at a more leisurely pace. At 12:30pm - we’ll release the Sierra Nevada Estate Homegrown Ale (the same style of beer made with Malt and hops grown on the property).

2pm - Avery Brewing – Try some of the Avery rarities on tap including aged kegs of Beast, Samaels and whatever Adam and Breese will let out of the brewery.

5:30pm World Re-Premiere of Courage Russian Imperial Stout (bottles). This beer hasn’t been made since, I believe, 1993. The Youngs/Wells Brewery now owns the rights to it & has Re-made the beer (one of the brewers on that brew is now the head brewer at Youngs/Wells). Wont be released for another month or so, so here’s your chance to try it out. Less than 1000 cases will be coming to the US.

10pm (Upstairs) He’Brew Celebration - We’ll have JewBelation 15, 15:15, & HopManna Plus Jeremy Cowan (the owner/Idea Man behind He’Brew) Will be here with his book Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah: How it took 13 years, Extreme Jewish Brewing, and Circus Sideshow Freaks to make Shmaltz Brewing Company an International Success.

10pm (Downstairs) Colorado Huge, Exotic, Esoteric, Rare, SOCIAL (CHEERS). Join us for a benefit for the Colorado Brewers Guild with special guest Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head pouring some Palo Santo through a Randall filled with Coffee. 10 Beers unavailable anywhere else during the fest will be poured by breweries such as Avery (IMMITUS barrel Aged Sour), Oskar Blues, Ska, Pagosa Springs, Odell (McMurray), Boulder (Mortimer- a barrel aged blend of Mojo IPA & Planet Porter), Great Divide (A Love Supreme, Barrel aged Saison with Brettanomyces), Left Hand (TNT Weizen Dopplebock)& Ashur (Funbarrel IPA). Wristbands for this event will go on sale about 9pm downstairs, Cost $40 for 1/2pt pours of all 10. Limited number of wristbands available

11pm (Upstairs) Alaskan Brewing 25th Anniversary Celebration. We’ll have kegs of their 25th anniversary Imperial Stout is brewed with an array of local ingredients and flavors to add dimension and celebrate Alaskan’s history and home. Alaska birch syrup from Wasilla lends a deep, almost tart character to the dark malt profile, while fireweed honey from Delta Junction adds a delicate sweetness and floral notes to the aroma and finish. The slight addition of our in-house alder-smoked malt alludes to the distinctive roasted flavor of turn-of-the-century malting practices, without overpowering the more subtle flavors of this dynamic anniversary brew.

Saturday October 1st

8pm - Firestone Walker - A new Arrival to the Colorado Market, Join Head Brewer Matt Bryndelson & others for some special kegs (and a cask) of Firestone Walkers amazing beers.

10pm - New Belgium – When the GABF is over, we tap into special releases of New Belgium’s Beers. This year I went to the brewery & did a blending session with Lauren Salazar, & Eric Salazar. Each of us made our own blend of La Folie. We will release the three versions (appropriately they will be called 1, 2, & 3) and give time for all to sample. After people have had the time to taste them I will ask for applause as a vote on your favorite. Only then will we open the envelope and disclose the Blenders. This should be interesting. I’ll also pull out a couple things from my stash of New Belgium Beers.

All of the kegs are in and we're ready to GO!

Also, if you haven't noticed we have a new updated website that includes some of that Facebook / Twitter stuff. We've been trying to post new beers on tap as we hook things up during the week. we are going to really try to keep that stuff going during the Fest, so it just might behoove you to sign up for that kind of stuff ahead of time because it might be one of the ways if you aren't sitting w/in sight of the chalkboard that you will know what's just been tapped...